


A Sweet Surprise

by Brook



Category: Grey's Anatomy
Genre: Caring, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, Surprises
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-10
Updated: 2015-05-17
Packaged: 2018-03-29 23:53:42
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,105
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3915391
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Brook/pseuds/Brook
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>AU. When Owen Hunt returns from his tour he finds Amelia, but he finds more than he was looking for and he's not sure how to deal with it.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

"Why people always leave. Why everyone you give a crap about walks away".

The words still lie heavy on his heart as Owen Hunt walks up to the house in the woods, intent on checking up on Amelia. She hadn't just been talking about Derek, he understands that she meant him as well. And it kills him knowing that he's caused her pain.

He and Richard Webber had shared a look that afternoon and he had silently promised to check up on her. Which is why he's here now.

As Owen steps onto the wooden deck he immediately spots Amelia standing there, or rather pacing there.

She is wearing simple jeans and a baggy sweatshirt, and still she's the most beautiful woman he's ever seen. It mesmerizes him just how stunning she is.

"Hey, it's good to see you" He greets, trying to get her attention, and for a second it works. She looks at him with a quick "hey" but then faces the other way again and goes right back to her pacing.

"It feels like I've been away for ever but I see nothing's changed except they chopped down that old tree". He has no idea why where he's going with this, he just hopes it will start a conversation.

She looks at him again briefly. "Yeah".

This is getting him nowhere. "Amelia, how have you been?" He knows asking her out right isn't likely going to give him a straight answer, but he has to at least try.

Finally she faces him properly, and yet now he finds himself wishing she'd look away. She is grinning sarcastically, but her eyes hold so much sadness it makes his heart ache.

"I'm fine. I'm great. I'm fan-freaking-tastic". There is an edge to her voice and her words cut like knives. "I've got the dead Derek thing completely managed" She says and she starts pacing again.

"I know people were worried. Since he died everybody has been looking at me, waiting for me to fall apart or freak out or just…" She makes a sound as if something were crashing, "to become a mess. Like some bomb everyone thinks is supposed to go off".

"My mother was calling three, four times a day. Addison was calling. Everyone. Makes sense. It's natural". She looks deep in thought, as if she isn't really aware of what is going on around her. Owen feels entirely useless. But the worst is yet to come.

Amelia just keeps on talking. "Every man I have ever loved has died". There's a slight quiver to her voice now and her pauses are getting longer. "Including my baby. Thank you universe". As she says it she shakes her fist up to the sky.

"So I should be like, grieve tragedy turned to stone bat crap crazy, but I'm good. I got this. I'm fine. I'm telling you. I'm amazing" As she speaks her volume increases and her speed picks up. "I am saving lifes left and right. I am putting buts in the seets of that OR gallery". With every sentence the venom in her voice becomes more clear. "I mean people are fighting to hear me lecture. I am entertaining. Joke. Joke. Joke. I'm funny. I'm fun. I am a party. I'm doing, I'm great.

She seems to have gotten most of it off her chest, and she calms down again. "I'm handling the dead Derek thing really well".

Owen just stood there the entire time she made her speech. He feels completely frustrated at how inadequate he is in dealing with her pain. "Okay" He says after she's been silent for a while.

His response makes her start talking yet again. "Except today I yelled at Richard, who was only trying to invite me for coffee. And now I'm standing here rambling for no apparent reason". She smiles at him sarcastically.

"You showed up again. I was fine. It was managed. But now It's not".

The former army doctor has dealt with a lot of traumatised people in his life, but he's never met anyone who deals with things the way Amelia Shepherd does, has never even come close to meeting someone who has gone through what she's been through. Therefor he has no idea what approach will work on her.

The handful of times she's let him in before he'd tried being gentle with her, and that hadn't worked all that well in. So he choses the tough approach now, hoping by god that it won't just cause more damage.

"All that stuff you're.. Managing?" He says and he holds her gaze, "You're not supposed to be managing it. You're supposed to be feeling it. Grief, loss, pain. It is normal".

Amelia scoffs. "It is not normal".

He can tell he's losing her as she turns away from him, but he can't let that happen. So he speeds across the deck to face her again. "It is. It is normal, It's not normal to you cause you've never done it. Instead of feeling the grief and the pain you shoved it all down and you ignore it." He wants to make her feel, not just the pain, but everything. "Instead of moving through the pain you run from it".

Suddenly a realisation hits him. "Instead of dealing with being hurt and alone and afraid that this horrible empty feeling is all that there is, I run from it" He says and he has to sit down. "I run off and i sign up for another tour, back to duty. We do these things, we run off and we drown ourselves in work, we do whatever it takes to cover it up and dull the sensation but it's not normal".

He desperately wants her to understand what he's saying. "We're supposed to feel. We're supposed to love, and hate, and hurt, and grieve, and break and be destroyed, and we build ourselves to be destroyed again." As he says it he stands up to emphasize his point, "That is human, that is humanity, that's.. that's being alive. That's the point. That's the entire point, don't avoid it, don't extinguish it".

There are tears in Amelia's eyes now and Owen knows he's gotten through to her. "Derek died. He died" She says it in a way that reveals just how much it hurts her, "I don't wanna feel it, i just… I don't think I can, I don't think I even wanna… I can't. I can't, I can't do this". She brings her hands up to her hair as if she's ready to rip every last lock out of her skull.

He's finally getting through to her and now he needs to supposer her. "yes you can" He says and he means it.

"I can't!" She yells at him, but he knows it's just the fear talking.

"You have to. Because if you don't it will destroy you". As he says it he finally gives into to his desire to touch her and he reaches out to grab that hand that she's still holding in front of her body like she needs to defend herself.

At his touch she finally crumbles and her face contorts with pain as she makes the most devastating sound he's ever heard a human being make. Amelia slumps down, but before he knees can fully and truly hit the deck he catches her, holding on for dear life. "You're gonna be okay. You're gonna survive this. Okay? Everybody does. It's perfectly normal, it's boring even. It's so normal".

She holds on to him like he's her only lifeline and at that moment he feels something.

At the hospital she'd been wearing scrubs so it hadn't been visible, and the sweater she's wearing doesn't show anything either. But with how close he is holding her right now he can clearly feel it.

Her belly is round and protruding.

It's not that big yet, but it's definitely there and he knows what that means. It can only mean one thing: she's pregnant. Probably about twenty two weeks along, if he has to guess.

A million feelings run around his mind, guilt, joy, love. But it can't be about him right now. He needs to support Amelia. If it is his child he'll get plenty of opportunities to form a coherent thought about it later. Right now he needs to take care of her.

The realisation that she's pregnant only makes it that much easier to understand why she's so upset, and he can't really blame her.

Owen picks her up gently, careful to disturb her as little as possible, and she doesn't protest. She simply continues to hold onto him and he's secretly glad that she's not objecting being carried.

Within a few minutes they reach the trailer but he doesn't put her down until they're actually inside, laying her on the bed as if she'll break if he's not cautious enough.

He doesn't think twice about it as he slides into bed right beside her, pulling her close to him as he does so. He won't let her go, not tonight, not ever again, and she needs to be held right now.

As he notices her breathing evening out he gently puts a hand on her stomach. He still can't quite fathom that there's a life growing inside of her. His mind is buzzing with questions, but they'll have to wait until tomorrow.

Right now, he needs to sleep.


	2. Chapter 2

As Amelia wakes up the next morning she’s completely disoriented by her surroundings. It takes her a full minute to figure out that she’s lying in Owen’s trailer, with him next to her, but as the realisation hits her so do last nights memories. 

Oh god. After months of carefully stuffing down her feelings she’d let them all out last night, and she hadn’t just told him like a normal person, but she’d yelled at him.   
And to make matters worse she’d burst into tears right after that. Because he’d he’d been so sweet, and comforting, and she had been so happy to see him alive and well. 

At that moment she notices something else. She hadn’t been paying attention to it but his hand was on her stomach. On the bump that had formed there these past couple of weeks. 

Crap. 

Until she hasn’t worried about telling him about the baby. He hadn’t even been home and she’d had no idea when he’d be returning so she’d just ignored the problem like she did so often. 

Only now she has to deal with it. She doesn’t know for sure if his hand ended up there on purpose or by mistake, but either way, when he wakes up he’ll know, and he’ll have questions. 

Her body freezes as the panic sets in. 

Owen’s been awake for a few minutes already, but he’s not yet willing to let Amelia go and so he’s just been lying there, savouring the feeling of her in his arms, the comfort and the familiarity of it all. 

But then he feels her body get stiffen against his and he immediately worries. “Amelia? What’s wrong? Talk to me” He says, no longer caring to keep up pretenses about still being asleep. 

“Nothing, I’m fine” Is her response, “Go back to sleep”. He knows better by now than to trust her when she uses that godforsaken sentence and he rolls her over so they’re now facing eachother. 

She doesn’t look at him and instead just plays with the sheets, pinching the fabric between her fingers. “Please. Tell me” He begs her. 

“I was out off line last night, I shouldn’t have yelled at you. I’m really…”. Before she can apologise he interrupts her. “You have nothing to be sorry about, you hear me?” He needs her to fully grasp it. “I’m the one who should be apologising to you, Amelia, I’m so, so sorry”. 

She looks up in surprise at his sudden fierceness and he quickly continues. “I never should have left you, I should’ve stayed and supported you through this”. 

Amelia averts her eyes down again. “I was the one who broke things off, you weren’t under any obligation to help me, so you don’t have to apologise”. 

But he does, he so does and needs to explain. “I do. I was a jackass. I was scared that I was going to lose you, that you were going to run. And so instead of waiting around I took matters into my own hands and left. But I shouldn’t have. I should’ve stayed and fought for you. You needed me and I let you down. I’m so sorry”. 

Owen gently lifts up her chin with his hand and forces her to look him in the eye. “Amelia I meant what I said, I want what we started. I want you. Maybe we’re doomed to fail but if so I wanna go down trying”. 

There are tears in her eyes now but she refuses to let them fall. She hesitates. When she finally speaks her voice is barely above a whisper. “I'm terrified of being hurt again”. 

“Not just by you” She adds quickly, “Just in general. Any time I’ve let myself be happy something ends up going wrong and I won’t survive it if that happens again. There’s so much about me that you don’t know…”.

“I know that there’s a lot I don’t know. But I also know that you’re the strongest person I know. With all that you’ve been through it’s only made you that much more amazing. You’re beautiful and kind and funny. I know that I wanna spend the rest of my life with you, because I wanna learn something new about you everyday, because I know i’ll never grow bored when I’m with you. And because I love you”.   
He hadn’t meant to state it quite so bluntly, but now that he’s said it he knows that he means every single word. 

Amelia’s heart flutters as he tells her he loves her. She hadn’t let herself believe it until now because let’s face it, she’s not the most experienced person when it comes to love and it would’ve been that much harder to forget about him if love were involved. But now she’s sure. They love each other. She’s in love with him.

Slowly she brings her hand up to cup his face. “It’s gonna take me a while to trust you again” She says, “And I’ll do my best but you’re going to have to be patient with me when it comes to talking about my feelings”. He nods in understanding. 

“But” She continues and then she immediately pauses again, “I love you too”. 

His lips are on hers as soon as the sentence has left her and he kisses her with all the passion he is able. She returns the kiss with just as much enthusiasm. They break apart a few minutes later gasping for air, foreheads touching. 

There’s still one thing they need to discus. Well actually there are a lot of things they need to discus but there’s one thing that takes precedence. Owen slides his hand under Amelia’s sweatshirt and rests his palm on the small bump, mindlessly caressing it with his thumb. 

He can’t quite bring bring himself to ask though. Because he’s afraid that he’ll insult her if he does but also because he’s terrified that he won’t like her answer. 

“She’s yours” Amelia whispers before he can torture himself any longer. She’d been looking down at his hand on her stomach but now she looks up to meet his eyes. The grin that he produces nearly splits his face in two. “She?”. 

She doesn’t actually know if it’s a girl, she’s just been of the baby that’s currently residing in her womb as as a she because it’s easier to differentiate this pregnancy from her first pregnancy that way. 

With her recent promise in mind she knows she has to try and let him in and so she tells him. “I don’t actually know if it’s a girl, it’s just less painful to think of her as a girl, because of last time”. 

He’s aware that she had a baby before who only lived for forty three minutes, though he doesn’t know any more than that, and he can only imagine how hard this has been on her. “Have you gone to get an ultrasound done yet?” He asks. 

She smiles sadly. “Nope”.

“Amelia, I don’t have to tell you how important it is to make sure that everything’s okay. Not just for the baby’s sake but also for yours”. There’s no judgement in his voice, only concern. 

Sighing, she pushes him down and lays her head down on his chest. “I just haven’t been able to get myself to go. My track record in this area isn’t great and I’m really afraid the ultrasound will show there’s something wrong with the baby”. 

His hands find their way to her back and he rubs circles down her spine soothingly. She continues her story. “Plus I didn’t really have anyone who could come with me. Sure I could’ve called Addison, she would’ve flown down in an instant, but she was there last time and that just brings back to many memories. So yeah, I’ve been avoiding it”. 

“What happened last time?” Owen doesn’t wanna pry, but he also wants to help her as well as he can and in order to do that he needs to know. 

Amelia swallows the lump that has formed in her throat. “My son was anencephalic”. 

Owen just hugs her to his chest tightly. He doesn’t ever want to let her go again. He’s a doctor so he knows the term she just used, even though he’s never seen an anencephalic baby himself. 

It’s cruel really, almost ironic in a horrible and devastating way. The top class neurosurgeon pregnant with a baby without a brain. 

A slight sniffle tells him that Amelia is crying now. “It’s going to be okay” He says, “We’ll go together this afternoon and we’ll see our perfectly healthy baby girl. And we’ll make make sure she stays that way. Okay?”. 

She nods into his chest and he tenderly kisses her forehead. 

“Now, let’s get make the two of you some breakfast!” He exclaims and though it pains him to do so he lets her go. 

As he gets up from the bed and glances back at her he sees her beaming up at him, with a smile on her face. And at that moment he vows to himself that he’s going to do his damnest to makes sure that that smiles never leaves her face again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Can I get an oh my god? Because OH MY GOD DID ANY OF YOU SEE THE SNEAK PEEK?! I've seen it about 5 times now and oh my fucking god. Anyway, here's the second chapter. I had a lot of trouble writing the dialogue, it's not my strongsuit, so please let me know what you think. Also, let me know if you think I should do a third chapter, with the whole ultrasound part. Hope you like it! Xx


	3. Chapter 3

That afternoon they walk into the hospital together, hand in hand. Owen doesn’t even care who sees them and what conclusions they’ll come to. Right now she can really use the comfort of his touch and he is more than happy to give it to her. 

Besides, if they’re going to make this work they have to become public at some point, so why not just show them like this by walking hand in hand?

It’s still another hour until their shifts start, but they’ve come in early so they can do an ultrasound first. Both are nervous about it, but while Owen is nervously excited, Amelia’s just plain worried and she’s been fidgeting from the moment they left the trailer. 

“So I texted Arizona” Owen says hesitantly, “I know you don’t wanna tell anyone yet and we don’t have to, but we need someone there who’s qualified to read the ultrasound, and I figured we both trust her..”. 

It’s clearly audible in his voice just how much he cares for her and Amelia wonders how she’s been so blind to it until now. Then she smiles at him “It’s fine Owen, I know we need someone to be there and I’m glad you chose Arizona”. 

“Besides” She jokes as an afterthought, “I saved Herman’s life so she owes me”. 

They reach the elevator and Owen presses the button that’ll bring them to the right floor. It doesn’t really matter if anyone sees them on the maternity ward at this point. In a few weeks time it’ll be impossible to hide Amelia’s belly anymore anyway, even in scrubs and baggy sweatshirts, and he doubts she’ll mind now that they’re doing this together. 

The hospital is strangely empty and they get to the right exam room without running into anyone. Arizona’s already inside, and if she’s surprised to see them together she doesn’t show it. “Hey,” She greets cheerfully, “How can I help you? Your text wasn’t all that informative...”. 

Owen smiles at her apologetically. “Sorry about that, I didn’t wanna give away too much and risk the gossip starting up. Amelia’s pregnant”. He hadn’t meant to state it quite so bluntly, but it feels good saying it out loud. “We were hoping you could do an ultrasound, make sure everything’s okay”. 

All this time Amelia hasn’t said anything, and he understands that she’s probably extremely anxious right about now, so he squeezes her hand comfortingly. 

“I’ll set up the equipment” Arizona says and Owen is thankful that she’s not asking any questions, at least not yet. “Amelia if you take of your sweatshirt and lie down on the table, I’ll get everything ready”. 

In slowmotion Amelia does as she was told and she pulls the sweater over her head. Owen takes it from her hands and she lies down on the exam table. He swiftly walks over to her side, taking her hand reassuringly. 

Arizona wheels her stool closer to the exam table and smiles at the duo. “Alright, I’m just gonna put the gel on your stomach now, it’s gonna feel a little cold”. And she squirts the ultrasound gel on Amelia’s protruding belly. 

“Let’s have a look” Says the former peds surgeon, and she moves transducer around. Amelia is actively facing the other way but Owen’s eyes are glued to the screen. “Do you wanna know the sex?” Asks Robbins, and Owen nods in response. He knows that it’s gonna take knowing éverything to settle Amelia’s nerves, and he not against knowing himself either. 

After a minute or so of searching she looks up at meets Owen’s eyes. “Congratulations, you’re having a girl!”. He beams down at her with a face splitting smile but before he can say anything Amelia speaks up. 

“Is she healthy?” She asks, voice seemingly devoid of any emotions, be he knows her well enough by now to see right through the defence mechanism. 

Arizona smiles at her reassuringly. “She’s absolutely fine. Ten fingers and ten toes”.   
But it’s gonna take more than that to calm Amelia and she looks at Owen, pleading him with her eyes to confirm the health of their daughter. 

He cups her face with his free hand. “She’s perfect”. A stray tear rolls down her cheek as she smiles faintly. “Really?”. He wipes away the tear with his thumb and smiles at her. “Really”. Then he bends down and kisses her. 

“I’ll run some blood tests” Says Arizona, who’s been watching the exchange curiously, “But everything looks normal. We’ll also schedule a follow up so we can monitor the two of you closely”. 

She been a peds surgeon for years now, and a neonatal surgeon for a year as well, so she’s used to dealing with worrying parents. Whatever it is that has Amelia so on edge, is obviously serious and she’ll do everything in her power to guide her colleague through this pregnancy without a glitch. 

After wiping Amelia’s belly clean they draw some blood and Amelia puts her sweatshirt back on. 

Once they’re standing in the hallway again, Amelia turns to Arizona. “Thank you, for everything”. They smile at each other. “Don’t mention it” Arizona replies, “If you have any questions you know where to find me” and with that she walks off.

Then Amelia turns to Owen, who’s been waiting patiently behind her. “And thank you too” She says. He looks at her in confusion, “For what?”. 

“For being there, for holding my hand, for everything really. I couldn’t have done it without you”. He folds his strong arms around her waist. “Any time”. And then he kisses her, not caring that they’re standing there for all the hospital to see. 

And she kisses him back without restraint, because she doesn’t care either. He’s here with her, their baby girl is healthy, and they’re going to be okay. The three of them are going to be more than okay, and that’s all that matters.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN; It took a little longer than I'd anticipated but here it is never the less, chapter 3, as requested. It's also the last chapter, but be sure to check out my other stories ;) Hope you enjoyed reading and let me know! Xx

**Author's Note:**

> AN; So I'm spawning fanfics like crazy right now... don't get too used to it cause there will come an end to my muse. I still have a couple of ideas left, plus this story will get a follow up chapter, and I'm open to any suggestions my readers have.
> 
> Thanks everyone who reviewed my last two stories, it really means a lot to know that you like what I wrote, and it certainly helps to stay motivated.
> 
> Hope you enjoyed this! Xx


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